Abstract: Nitrogen-containing tetrahedral amorphous carbon films (ta-C) have been prepared by magnetic field filtered plasma stream deposition method. The plasma stream was first formed by sputtering of a graphite target in nitrogen-argon atmosphere. The microstructure and surface morphology of the films having different nitrogen-doping levels have been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The results showed that the nitrogen-free ta-C films have a single and nearly symmetric very broad Raman peak range from 1200 cm-1 to 2000 cm-1 with the centerline at about 1580 cm-1. The surface morphology of the films is very smooth and uniform. The Raman spectra of nitrogen-containing ta-C films exhibit two broad peaks centered approximately at 1360 cm-1 (D peak) and 1580 cm-1 (G peak). The ratio of the maximum intensity of D band and G band increases with the amount of nitrogen incorporated into ta-C films. The correlation between microstructure and nitrogen content in these films was discussed.